Question: Can you give me some details about the way ClarisWorks writes AppleWorks format files? I have problems reading them into my Apple IIGS. I examined the file with a ProDOS disk utility and it doesn't look quite like other AppleWorks files, as if the file type is wrong, or there is a resource fork.
Answer: This probably has more to do with the way the file was "transferred" than with the way ClarisWorks "translated" the format. Here's the distinction between these two steps:
When ClarisWorks saves your work in AppleWorks format, it strips out information that can't be used, like fonts and graphics. Then it expresses the text of your file and any remaining style elements in a language AppleWorks can understand. It stamps the files with the Macintosh creator tag pdos and type tag 1A. No resource fork is used. ClarisWorks then hands the actual work of writing the file to disk to standard Macintosh file handling routines.
This is the end of the "format translation" part of getting your ClarisWorks file to AppleWorks. It's also where ClarisWorks leaves the picture. The second stage, "file transfer," is actually handled by other software.
The AppleWorks file which ClarisWorks creates can be moved to a ProDOS volume in a variety of ways:
* It could be transferred over a modem.
* It could be transferred over a network to an AppleShare file server.
* Apple File Exchange (available for downloading from AOL as part of Macintosh System 7.0.1) could copy the file to a ProDOS disk.
* The Macintosh system extension ProDOS File System could mount a ProDOS floppy on the Macintosh desktop.
* The Apple IIGS System 6 HFS FST could mount the Macintosh floppy on the IIGS desktop.
As you can see, some of the file transfer methods are so transparent, you forget how much work they are doing to reconcile two essentially incompatible disk formats.
And in practice, some of these methods are more reliable than others. Apple File Exchange, modem transfer, and AppleShare transfer seem to be virtually trouble-free. For example, AppleShare will convert the Macintosh type tag to an appropriate ProDOS file type tag automatically. The other two methods are more convenient, but they also seem to have hidden surprises.
For example, the ProDOS File System extension for Macintosh will mount ProDOS disks so they appear on the desktop and in Open/Save file dialogs. But customers report that if you try to save directly to the ProDOS disk, the file isn't transferred correctly. Instead, you must save to a Macintosh disk, then use the Finder to copy the file to the ProDOS volume.
Does this sound familiar? If it does, then you have to decide whether to keep the ProDOS file system extension and remember to transfer files at the Finder, or remove it and use another transfer method.
Changing Filetypes
If you already have files you can't read into AppleWorks and you don't have the original ClarisWorks files to try resaving, there are at least two utilities that can change filetypes on the Apple II.
1. TimeOut Filemaster will allow you to change the type from within AppleWorks.
2. Change A File, by Harold Portnoy, is a stand alone shareware program that will change file types, repair damaged AppleWorks files and more. It is available on online services.
If you have an Apple IIgs, Prosel 16, Wings, and Deliverance are 3 products that offer a feature for changing filetypes.